South Korea Narrowly Escapes Another Crowd Crush Horror At “Boiler Room World Tour”
The Seoul leg of the “Boiler Room World Tour,” scheduled for July 27, 2024 (KST), from 9 PM to 4 AM, was called off after major concerns for attendee safety were raised.
The “2024 Boiler Room: Seoul” concert drew a huge crowd, thanks to the inclusion of globally renowned Korean DJ Peggy Gou in the lineup. However, around 1 AM, right before the DJ’s performance, the local fire department shut down the concert.
A tweet from an attendee captured the sheer size of the crowd that showed up at the venue. According to the tweet, the fire department that was called to the venue to help some attendees who were having breathing issues called the event off and ordered everyone to leave. A YTN news segment later confirmed that multiple reports were made to the authorities for crowd congestion.
다른 분 얼굴 나와 죄송하지만 수용 인원 몇 백 퍼센트 이상으로 티켓 판매한 보일러룸 서울 주최측 때문에 안에 계신분들 질식해서 경찰 119 출동하고 행사는 그대로 취소됨 여긴 그냥 아비규환임 사람들 아직도 나오는 중 pic.twitter.com/epnXmCOeIH
— pourquoi? (@3gn1ledx) July 27, 2024
Sorry the video includes stranges’ faces. But because Boiler Room Seoul event hosts oversold tickets, it got too crowded and people inside started suffocating. The police and the fire department both showed up and the event was called off. It was hell on earth at the site. People are still pouring out of the venue.
— @3gn1ledx/X
Another tweet called out the host for overselling tickets:
오… #보일러룸 압사당하기 직전에 소방당국에서 해산명령… 2000명짜리 스테이지에 티켓을 6000장 이상 팔때부터 미리 예상했어야하는데…
— williams.lee (bill.lee) 🍌 (@2021_bill) July 27, 2024
Oh… Boiler Room was called off by the fire department right before a crowd crush took place. Should’ve seen that coming when the host sold 6K tickets for an event venue that only holds 2K people…
— @2021_bill/X
Other videos and photos from attendees captured the chaos that ensued at the venue.
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When the news of the canceled show was reported, Koreans criticized the event host for posing a threat to the attendees.
- “Who’s the host? What a lunatic.”
- “Glad it was called off.”
- “The venue doesn’t look like it can hold 5,000 people.”
- “That’s insane. It would’ve been a disaster had the event kept going.”
- “Who’s Peggy Gou? Is she famous?”
- “They were packing the venue without thinking, huh? This is 100% the host’s fault.”
- “Are they out of their minds? Have they already forgotten about the tragedy that took place in Korea already?”
- “Most indoor concerts are seated or with assigned seating these days. What were the host and the venue thinking?”
- “It has not been that long since Itaewon, guys.”
- “If the venue capacity is 2,000, it means 2,000 people makes it packed already. Indoor venues get really stuffy at max capacity. What were they thinking, overselling tickets like that?”
- “Even 2K looks like a stretch to fit there.”
- “All gone crazy. What else could it be?”
Meanwhile, Peggy Gou shared her disappointment on social media following the cancellation and mentioned that she is working to arrange a new performance as soon as possible.
Hi all. Before I could go on stage and perform, the event was called off due to the host issues and safety concerns. It breaks my heart and I’m so sad. I cannot believe this happened. I flew in from Japan without sleeping because I was really looking forward to this… T-T The police showed up after receiving reports. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything big. I’ve requested that refunds be made promptly to those who purchased tickets. I’m also in the talks for another performance as soon as possible for those who attended as well as those who weren’t able to enter the venue tonight. Please hang tight.
— Peggy Gou
Read more about Peggy Gou:
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